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Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Learn about Artificial Intelligence (AI) at NIC

Citing AI-Created Text in MLA Style

If your instructor permits the use of AI in your assignments, it is important to acknowledge which AI tool(s) you used, how you used them, and, to provide in-text citations/works-cited entries for specific paraphrases and direct quotes.

Unless otherwise directed, you must:

  • Cite an AI tool whenever you paraphrase, quote, or incorporate into your own work any content (whether text, image, data, or other) that was created by it 
  • Disclose any changes you may have made, such as editing your writing or translating words, through a note, within your text, or at another appropriate location
  • Describe how you used an AI tool to generate content.
    • For example:  For the purposes of this paper, I used ChatGPT to brainstorm keywords for my paper on the topic of climate change.

Applying MLA's Template to cite generative AI 

Author: Use the "Title of the Source" rather than the AI tool as author

Title of Source:  "Description of AI-generated content" such as the prompt used to find the information

Title of Container:  Name of AI tool, such as ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Claude

Version:  The version of the tool used. As the format for version number is still evolving, use either the date (e.g. 13 Feb version), a version number (e.g. ChatGPT 3.5; ), or, a name (e.g. Claude 3.7 sonnet).  See examples below.

Publisher:  Name of company that developed the tool, such as OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, Anthropic

Date:  Date the content was generated

Location:  Provide the general URL for the tool
 

TEMPLATE

"Description of AI-generated content" description type. Name of AI tool, version, publisher, date, URL. 

EXAMPLES

"Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald" prompt. ChatGPT, 13         

Feb. version, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.

"Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald" prompt. ChatGPT 3.5,           

OpenAI, 2 Mar. 2025, chat.openai.com/chat.

"Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald" prompt.  Gemini, Version 2.0

Flash, Google, 11 Feb. 2025, https://deepmind.google/technologies/gemini/flash/

"Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald" prompt.  Copilot, Version 365,

Microsoft, 28 Feb. 2025, https://copilot.microsoft.com/

The MLA template of core elements provides flexibility in citation. Where reasonable to do so, you may choose to modify your citations.  Remember, although you may modify the format of your citations, you must always cite your sources.  This is particularly true for the version number, as the format for the version number is still in flux.

When creating an in-text citation for content created by AI, keep in mind that MLA Style does not treat the AI tool as an author. Instead, provide a shortened title of the source, which is often the prompt ("Title of source"). 

See examples below and on the MLA site: https://style.mla.org/citing-generative-ai/

In-text Citation

Paraphrase

When prompted to describe the symbolism of the green light in The Great Gatsby, ChatGPT includes optimism, the difficulty in fulfilling the American dream, greediness and envy ("Describe the symbolism").                  

Note:  "Describe the symbolism" is the shortened version of the prompt, which is then treated as the title of the source.                                                                                  

In-text Citation

"Direct Quote"

 

When asked to describe the symbolism of the green light in The Great Gatsby, ChatGPT provided a number of symbolic meanings including "hope and promise; illusion and deception; money and materialism; envy and jealousy" ("Describe the symbolism"). 

Note:  "Describe the symbolism" is the shortened version of the prompt, which is then treated as the title of the source.

Works Cited Entry

 

 "Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald"

       prompt. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.

OR (note difference in version number; either is OK)

 "Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald"

       prompt. ChatGPT 3.5, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.

 

Remember, in-text citation formatting changes depending on a number of factors.